UV - LED Overview Part II — Curing Systems

Te ch ni ca l P ap er UV-LED Overview Part II — Curing Systems By Jennifer Heathcote This article is the second installment in a three-part series designed to consolidate key principles and technical information regarding the science and engineering behind ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs). If you have not yet read “Part I— Operation and Measurement” in the July/August 2010 issue, you may want to do so before continuing with Part II. The best approach when tackling any new topic is to begin with a study of relevant terminology within the context of the defined subject matter. Without a firm grasp of the common language, key concepts often appear disconnected and it can be difficult to achieve full comprehension or communicate effectively within the marketplace. With emerging technologies such as UV-LEDs, an additional challenge in learning the jargon lies in the fact that the language has not yet been properly established or defined with respect to the UV curing industry, let alone consolidated for easy reference. This increases the chances that many of us are not using the same words or are using them incorrectly. Furthermore, if the words have multiple meanings or if the definitions of the words are not apparent, their usage can lead to confusion or misunderstandings between suppliers and customers as well as within companies. How many conversations have each of us had regarding UV-LEDs in which we either assumed the other party understood what we were saying or we pretended to understand what